Biblical narratives in the Quran

The Quran contains references to more than fifty people and events also found in the Bible. While the stories told in each book are generally comparable, there are also some notable differences. Biblical stories come from diverse sources and authors, so their attention to detail varies individually.

The Quran does not directly copy the Bible or the Apocrypha in any of its narratives, this is presented as the basic sign of orally transmitted Biblical knowledge. Accordingly, it is stated that “‘the author’ of the Qurʾān would have heard only descriptions or paraphrases of such texts rendered into Arabic orally, most likely from some form of the Semitic language known as Aramaic.” Islamic writers, however, attribute this to the purpose of the Quran, because according to them, the primary purpose of the Quran is to give religious and moral guidance to its audience.

The Islamic methodology of tafsir al-Quran bi-l-Kitab (Arabic: تفسير القرآن بالكتاب) refers to interpreting the Quran with/through the Bible. This approach adopts canonical Arabic versions of the Bible, including the Tawrat (Torah) and the Injil (Gospel), both to illuminate and to add exegetical depth to the reading of the Quran. Notable Muslim mufassirun (commentators) of the Bible and Quran who weaved biblical texts together with Quranic ones include Abu al-Hakam Abd al-Salam bin al-Isbili of Al-Andalus and Ibrahim ibn Umar al-Biqa'i.